The sand and short brush as it extends in the horizon, the sun above you… Little could separate the appearance of this particular portion of Rissan from any other portion, it's the kind of scenery that could happen anywhere, anywhen in this place.But this time, there is something particularly interesting in sight. Sitting on a rock as your car moves on is a familar famce, hair the color of silver, dressed in the most unusual color- Black and red horizontal stripes, a ridiculously-sized arbalest sitting at their side. Alcor waves as you come nearby
Serenity: "Do I *really* have to pull over or should I just keep driving…?"
Harriet: "We could always just run him over."
Serenity: "Waaaay too much effort to actually run over an Oracle."
Harriet: "Ugh, yeah."
Harriet: "Hughbert, should we stop and listen to this asshole?"
Hughbert: "There's probably an oversized bolt with 'shouldn't have kept driving' engraved on the side that will catch us if we don't."
Serenity: "Uugh I guess."
Harriet: "Not into my car he's not. Let's pull over."Serenity‘ sighs as she starts to pull over.Alcor smiles as he stands up "See, you don’t need the ability to see the future when something's that obvious"
Amal: "Wonder if he just wants to hitchhike."Alcor picks up his crossbow "Unfortunately, Amal, I can't afford that anymore"
Amal: "Hey, all you have to do is promise not to sing shitty songs."
Amal: "It's cool."
Alcor: "I was planning on mostly being friendly here in Rissan, aligned objectives and all"Serenity‘ shakes her head before crossing her arms over the steering wheel and lazily leaning forward.
Alcor: "But you’ve managed to be surprisingly effective in Orsis"
Serenity: "And so in the spirit of friendship you decided to perform some good old fashioned highway robbery…?"
Alcor: "Meaning I can't afford you the chance to interfere in Akavir so…"
Alcor: "Might as well start this fight here and now"
Alcor: "As good a place as any, right?"
Serenity: "Though, I mean. It's not like you've ever made much of any sense, Julia, so why start now I suppose."
Hughbert: "You do seem uncharacteristically uncharitable here yourself. Then again, money has no value when the society that values it is on the sacrificial altar for you."
Amal: "Oh my Goddess you're so boring a-" -they cut off, wincing.
Harriet: "Oh, so you just want us to kick your ass? I thought this was going to be difficult."Alcor grins at Amal "Hey now I can't be fun all the time"
Alcor: "I hope I can be more entertainment in this fight. I know you're powerful, mind, but I promise I can keep at this for hours"
Alcor: "I hope you're ready"
Serenity: "Not especially…? Been driving for a couple hours, kind of tired. Not really feeling it."
Serenity: "Why dont
Serenity: "Why don't you do us all a favor and just fuck off?"Alcor shrugs, and sighs "You, sadly, won't stop interfering either"
Alcor: "So we can't make that tradeoff"
Serenity: "Well, I mean."
Serenity: "That's because your plan is shit and we can do a lot better than you can."
Serenity: "We could probably do even better if you pulled your ass out of your head and decided to help us too, you know."
Harriet: "Even I can grudgingly admit you're as good as I am. You should really consider it."Alcor shakes his head sadly "You can't"
Alcor: "Someone can, though, and will"
Serenity: "Okay you say that…"
Serenity: "And yet…"
Alcor: "Eventually"
Alcor: "That doesn't matter, though, not right now"
Serenity: "Despite you being the best Oracle there's ever been…"
Serenity: "We've still kicked your ass or otherwise stomped all over your plans… at least six different times I can think of?"Amal just laughs a little bit and narrows their eyes at Alcor, thinking about saying something but deciding against it. Just… looking at him with pure, utter disdain.
Alcor: "Isn't fate a pain, really?"Alcor hefts up his arbalest, a light blue aura around him as he starts floating in the air "Well, let's be efficient here, we can talk while we fight"
Serenity: "You are trying way, way too hard dude. You know not all guys have to be relentlessly fucking retarded too cool for school jackasses, right? I mean look at Hughbert or Anton. If you wanna pretend to be a man you should at least pretend to be a good one."
[OOC] Amal: [SHP: 80] HP: 550/550, MP: 550/550, LP: 9/9, SoS: 137
JayM: Battle order: Amal [B]:0 Serenity [B]:2 Harriet [B]:4 Hughbert [F]:4 Alcor (Crossbow) [F]:8
JayM: Status for Alcor (Crossbow) [F]: : [==========]
[OOC] JayM: https://youtu.be/wHSe9goesEk
Alcor: "Pfft. But i'm the villain of this story, though"
Serenity: "You're not even a good villian though."
Alcor: "Of course"
Alcor: "A good villain might be likeable after all"
Alcor: "And I can't have that"
Serenity: "You know what, I'm not getting out of this fucking seat. I'm not even going to stop slouching."
JayM: Amal, he's definitely going to do that
JayM: Uhn, my language driver failed there
JayM: Amal, your turn, if you feel liek starting
Alcor: "Fine by more"
[OOC] Hughbert: HP: 700/700, t.HP: 60 Stored: 0, MP: 600/600, LP: 6/6, SoS: 162
[OOC] Amal: Sorry, had an inopportune AFK, one second
Serenity: "See I've been thinking a lot about you and all the dumb shit you do while we've been stuck in this baren hell hole."
Serenity: "And the only conlusion I can come to is that you're either the dumbest person in the ENTIRELY WORLD, you really want to fuck the shit out of Lola, OR you're completely full of shit and very poorly just trying to lead us around by the noise."Alcor tilts his head to the side "Hrm… You're not entirely wrong"Amal closes their eyes, floats a few centimetres into the air, surrounded with rainbow light and the shadow of wings. "…my world doesn't need a villain. That's not how any of this works. And I'll stop you- WE'LL stop you- as many times as it takes…" [CT 30 Miracle Thesis Rainbow Protshell]
Serenity: "There's room for overlap on all those points of course. Not that I can really blame you for number two, I've seen Lola's old costume. If I was into girls…" Serenity rolls a shrug.
Serenity: "But the long and short of that is that playing along with you right here is a complete waste of everyone's time, so I'm not gunna."Alcor laughs "Ah, the things you don't know, Serenity"
JayM: Serneity, your turn!Serenity‘ blows her bangs out of her face. "It’s almost like people keep deliberately not telling us stuff, yeah." [Wait D15]
Alcor: "… In way, it kind of is, Amal. It's how it should work. But that's the one thing the Goddess got right, it's not how it does work. Do show me you mean it"
JayM: Battle order: Harriet [B]:0 Hughbert [F]:0 Alcor (Crossbow) [F]:4 Serenity [B]:13 Amal [B]:26
JayM: Harriet and Hughbert!Amal frowns. "…people like you don't deserve to talk about the Goddess at all." They quietly resume channeling the rainbow light…
Alcor: "As for what i'm not telling you, Serenity… It really is meaningless, since none of that is real…"
Hughbert: "Don't expect us to 'entertain' you for very long. We've got a schedule to keep, and for once, we've managed to stay on track. We had a busy day yesterday, and many more planned, in spite of the opposition." His force gear kicks into life and creates a barrier behind him! [Compressed Curtain, 30D]
Alcor: "But apparently, Lola was actually married to the Alcor of her timeline"
Alcor: "Which has proven to be a problem, but that is neither here nor there"
JayM: Harriet!
Harriet: "Ugh, fine, I'll get up." Harriet pulls her gear out of the car, straightens up, and starts cranking her ECC, double time. [-1 luck for -5 CT, Jolt, 60MP 25D]Harriet rolled 1d12+180 and got 7 ( Total: 187.0 ) for enjoy being sped up by 4 ticks
Serenity: "Hahahaha."
Serenity: "How in the world did that turn out to be a problem?"
Serenity: "Is Aldiva like completely helpless without Lola or something?"Amal cracks open an eye. "Hey, Alcor. Watch your back, yeah?"At this time Amal can feel something- Something thin like a hair tied around his waist, tugging very gently at him. He's Marked(U) [Another Goddess]Alcor loads a bolt made of ragnite on his crossbow, aims it upwards and fires, it flies into the air [Graviton Artillery]Then it's Harriet's turn to feel that thin strand tugging at her waist was well, she's Marked(U)
Harriet: "Oi! Hands off, thanks!"
JayM: Battle order: Serenity [B]:0 Harriet [B]:12 Amal [B]:13 Hughbert [F]:17 Artillery 1:17 Great Foresight:37 Artillery 2:47 Alcor (Crossbow) [F]:48 Artillery 3:77
JayM: Status for Alcor (Crossbow) [F]: : [==========]
JayM: Serenity!Amal growls…
Serenity: "Well?" [Doin Nothin D15]
Alcor: "You know how this kinda thing goes, takes a while to spin up"
JayM: Harriet!
Serenity: "That is not at all how answering simple questions works you dumbass motherfucker."Amal holds up their arm and tugs experimentally, peering off into the far, /far/ distance. Then pauses, and tugs in a pattern. long and short: ..-. ..- -.-. -.- *pause* -.- - ..-
Serenity: "I thought you said you were capable of talking and fighting at the same time?"Harriet flicks another switch or three, cranking up the cannon. [15CT]
Alcor: "Someone's being a bother right now, actually. But"
Alcor: "There is no pope in that timeline, I believe"
Serenity: "Might as well put your weapon away then if you can't even handle simple multitasking like this."
Alcor: "But let's say that alternate self of mine is quite disagreeable with my actions"
Serenity: "If you're really dead set on having a fight I can start being mean to you with words, though."
Alcor: "Can't said I don't understand. I would be quite against my own actions if I didn't have Cor"
JayM: Amal!
Serenity: "Woooah woah woah, what do you mean. The happy, semi well adjusted version of you ISN'T keen ondestroying the world for no reason?"Alcor laughs
Alcor: "Isn't it surprising?"
Harriet: "No, not really."
Serenity: "I kind of want to get up and slap you now."
Alcor: "Feel free to"
Serenity: "I'm not GOING to because I'm tired, but. The feeling is there."
Serenity: "Why's Lola helping you if her version of you is against it all?"Amal lets out a quiet sigh and releases the rainbowy light they'd been gathering, spinning shells of light over the entire party. [D30] [-30% phys and mag damage (5)]
Alcor: "Ahh, isn't that a great question?"
JayM: Serenity, your turn!
Serenity: "That's why I asked it…."Serenity‘ blinks, tilts her head off in some random direction. [15D]
Amal: "He’s worse than the Goddess about answering questions, I don't even know why you're bothering."
Serenity: "Because the plan falls apart if I don't fight back, and if I'm going to be sitting on my face listening to them I might as well talk too."
[OOC] Serenity: sitting on my ass listening^
JayM: Hughbert!
Alcor: "Oh, I don't have all the answers, actually"
Alcor: "I do have faith, though"
Amal: "In the Goddess you're trying to will into existence?"
Alcor: "In my best friend"
Alcor: "And in my own eyes"
Harriet: "Yeah, uh, about that."
Amal: "Hm."
Harriet: "You need glasses."Hughbert maintains his barrier. "This invention of yours seems to be working, Harriet, though I'd call it a solid 'beta'…" [Compressed Curtain, 30D]Harriet grins to Hughbert. "Yeah, I'm kind of amazing at this."The first bolt comes from the heavens- It strikes near the car missing completely- And them a wave of impact comes crashing down sending only Serenity flying off the seat and into the sands for [84] Physical Ranged damage
JayM: Harriet!Serenity‘ puts her arms in front of her face before she crashes into the ground, then sighs.
Harriet: "Hey, don’t mess up my baby!" Beat. "Or Serenity." With that, Harriet flicks a switch, arcing a jet of electricity out towards Alcor. [Thunder, 35D]
[OOC] Amal: remember protshellHarriet rolled 1d12+180*1.2 and got 1 ( Total: 217.0 ) for Storm Trackin'Serenity‘ hasn’t even bothered sitting back up yet it seems.
JayM: Oh boy server's getting smothered
JayM: Serenity's turn again!
Serenity: "Why do you want me to kick your ass so bad, Alcor?"Serenity‘ turns her head to face him. [15D]
Amal: "Harrrieeettttttt Paws says you’re cool."
Harriet: "Aw, thanks. Paws is cool too, I guess!"
JayM: Battle order: Amal [B]:0 Serenity [B]:2 Hughbert [F]:4 Artillery 2:4 Alcor (Crossbow) [F]:5 Harriet [B]:19 Artillery 3:34 Great Foresight:44
JayM: Amal!Amal flicks a bit of energy at Hughbert and Serenity [+30 HP, Continuance] and charges a web of light! [CT 10]
JayM: Serenity again!
JayM: So many turns of nothingSerenity‘ still waiting on Alcor’s responce. [15D]
JayM: Hughbert!
Alcor: "Hrm… Hehehe, sorry for the delay, I am listening in"Hughbert shifts his barrier, creating a special bubble protecting ~just~ the precious princess. "Serenity, you are going to be late for the fight if you don't get up right this instant!" [Compressed Sphere 40D]
Alcor: "But I don't, honestly, Serenity. Right now I want you to die. Or at the very least be incapacitated until the last step of my preparations are complete"
Amal: "Didn't anyone ever tell you it wasn't polite to eavesdrop!?" Yes, them saying this in particular IS hilarious, shut up.
Alcor: "If you're going to make this easier on me, be my guest"A second bolt falls from the sky, this time it lands under Amal- The impact wave smashes hi magainst the ground for [84] Physical Ranged damage
Serenity: "Why do you want me to die? What did I ever do to you?"
Serenity: "It's not really fair to hold things against me I haven't even done yet."
Amal: "Nothing, you're just in the way."
Serenity: "But if you WANT to relive one of the futures where I've made you completely lose your shit,"
[OOC] Amal: HP: 492/550, [TMP: 20] MP: 550/550, LP: 9/9, SoS: 137 - Another Goddess (U),Protshell (5)
Serenity: "I'm willing to give in a go, in this here spirit of fucked up desert friendship."Alcor then loads a different metallic bolt and aims it at Serenity "Did you honestly forget what you did to my two distortion arrays back in Orsis?" he fires a bolt at her- But it doesn't hits her, partway through the travel it explodes into a massive shockwave [Airburst Bolt]JayM rolled 3d100 and got 36, 33, 100 ( Total: 169 ) for 80JayM rolled 1d12+210 and got 9 ( Total: 219 )
Serenity: "You did that yourself lady."
Serenity: "Like it LITERALLY COULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED without you doing shit."
JayM: Dealing [219] damage to Serenity and Harriet!
[OOC] Amal: protshelllll
[OOC] JayM: Right, -50% was it?
Math: (219*0.7) = 153.3
[OOC] Amal: -30%
Harriet: "Shield, set-up!" Harriet deploys her force shield! [-20%, for -50% total]
JayM: Actally -30# so [153]
Serenity: "Like holy fuck I can appreciate that sometimes you Oracles might get a little mixed up, but you really out to try doing a better track of keeping the liear events of things in order, as well as cause and effect."As he fires, something appears beside him- A familiar shadow… One of Anton's shadows, it points it's crossbow at Serenity
[OOC] Harriet: HP: 490/600, MP: 660/700, LP: 7/8, SoS: 150 - STracker - 30% (),L-Ether - 2 (),Protshell (-30% damage) (4)Serenity can also feel the tugging around her waist and is Marked(U)
JayM: Battle order: Amal [B]:0 Serenity [B]:7 Harriet [B]:9 S-Anton:9 Artillery 3:24 Hughbert [F]:34 Great Foresight:34 Alcor (Crossbow) [F]:65
JayM: Status for Alcor (Crossbow) [F]: : [==========]
JayM: Amal
Alcor: "Oh, yes. I totally destroyed my own second array"Hughbert guides the damage redistribution system to properly redirect the force that struck Serenity - [76] damage to Alcor and himself, and 0 to Serenity!
Alcor: "Good to know you're keeping your facts in order"
Amal: "…Anton?" They frown, but throw the web of light onto Alcor. "Hey Serenity please start doing stuff, whatever dumb point you were trying to prove has probably been proven??? Something's happening and I don't like it." [Chorus D25]Amal rolled d12+99 and got 7 ( Total: 106 ) for +20% to the next hit on Alcor
Serenity: "Sure are a lot of whiners around be all the sudden!"Serenity‘ sits up, opens up the car door and pulls her force gear out of it.
JayM: Serenity!
Alcor: "Oh, don’t worry, this is just a shadow. Someone has to be fine after i'm done with you"
Alcor: "Might as well be him"
Amal: "Oh my Goddess you're /such/ an edgelord, Alcor. I'm gonna make sure you survive all of this out of SPITE at this point."
Serenity: "So anyway Julia considering we know you know this is all a dumb, stupid idea, and you're not even really into it given that -" Serenity sighs, flipping a couple of switches on before pulling the trigger in a vaguely alcor-y direction. [Sniper Beam 50D] [@60D]
Harriet: "I mean I really think we should just kill him."
Harriet: "Sometimes murder really is the solution."
Serenity: "- On a scale of one to ten about how much of this would you say is because no one loves you?"
Amal: "Owwww."
Alcor: "About Zero point five"
Alcor: "One question, though. Did you make her cry?"
Serenity: "Maybe it's your massive penis envy then…?"
Serenity: "Make who cry?"
Alcor: "She always cared about those things a lot more than me"
Alcor: "And there's only one way you'd know my given name"
Alcor: "Just want to know if she managed to get her act together"
Serenity: "Are you sure? Because she's very clearly muff diving on this side too."
Harriet: "Wait, she's what?"
JayM: Harriet!
Serenity: "Fucking the Pope."
Harriet: "Ohhhhhh."
Harriet: "Is that the word for that sort of thing? Huh."
Alcor: "I hope she is, after all I had to do"Harriet flicks a few switches, cranks up her ECC. "But then, I don't really care that much." [CT50]
Amal: "Woah."
Amal: "Harriet, come cover my ears."Harriet deadpan stares at Amal through her goggles, jerks her chin down to the cannon she's holding in both hands.
Serenity: "Anyway no I didn't make her cry,"
Serenity: "You know who did though, Julia?"
Serenity: "YOU, you dumb fucking peice of shit."
Serenity: "After you abandoned her and set out to destroy the world she's working so fucking hard to protect."A shadowy bolt from S-Anton strikes Serenity directly in the chest for (MaxHP-CurrHP) damage
Hughbert: "I cannot even see where your ears are under that hood, Amal. Do you even have ears?"
[OOC] Serenity: 28]!And the third artillery bolt lands square under Harriet for [84] damage from the shockwave!Hughbert redirects- [14] to Alcor and [14] to himself.
Amal: "Of course I have ears."
JayM: Battle order: Amal [B]:0 Hughbert [F]:9 Great Foresight:9 Sniper Beam:32 Harriet [B]:34 Alcor (Crossbow) [F]:40 Serenity [B]:42
JayM: Status for Alcor (Crossbow) [F]: : [========= ] Chorus[+20%](6)
JayM: Amal!Amal charges… another Chorus, actually! Hughbert is good at this game. [CT 10]
Alcor: "For what's worth"
Alcor: "I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't have her to protect this land"Harriet stumbles back a bit, but manages to avoid falling on her ass.
Harriet: "Oh, so this is just one big pissing match between you and her?"
Serenity: "I'm sure that'll be a GREAT comfort to her."
Serenity: "'oh don't worry ms. oracle, your friend friend said she only tried to ruin everything you've ever wanted and stood for because you exist'. I'll let her know as soon as we get back. Sighs of relief all around!"
Alcor: "Good, do tell her. It'll make more sense for her than it does for you"
Serenity: "You are human trash, Julia."Alcor sighs "I know, I know, such an awful role to play"
JayM: Hughbert!
Serenity: "It's not a role you're playing. You're just fucking garbage."
Alcor: "Exactly!"
Serenity: "The role you WANT to play would be a lot better than what you are."
Serenity: "Do you like, cry yourself to sleep over this shit? Or wallow in it? Or get off on it because you actualy enjoy it or what."
Alcor: "I honestly don't really have time to sleep, so I sadly do not get to cry myself to sleep over how I am such a terrible person"
Alcor: "I sure do try to, though"
Amal: "I'd… feel bad for you if you hadn't turn apart the ground out of hubris. Now I just want to make sure you can't hurt anybody ever again."
Alcor: "Hubris, huhn? Let's go with that, Amal"
Alcor: "On the note of hubris, I do remember you trying to make some form of weapon to amplify your distortion magic powered by radiant ragnite, Serenity. I'd expected you to try and use it by this point"
Serenity: "On you?"
Alcor: "It was a distinct possibility"
Serenity: "You aren't worth the effort."
Serenity: "You're just garbage we're cleaning up."
Alcor: "Ah, alright, that's where we are, good to know."Hughbert grabs a disc from his pack and sticks it on the end of his air blade. After quickly slapping an additional explosive payload on it (didn't you see his subordinate hand it off?), he uses his blade as a racket to fling it right at Alcor! "You two seem to be enjoying yourselves. Releasing some steam?" [HQ Scorpion Mine, 40D]
Amal: "I -suspect- I am the world's foremost expert on hubris, Alcor, and quite frankly I find your attempt lacking."
Serenity: "Anyway it's good to have that cleared up though, it was, in fact, all of the above. Because you are d e f i n i t e l y the dumbest motherfucker in the world, as well."
JayM: Amal!
Alcor: "To be honest, you can't really be a good villain if you're not dumb enough"
Alcor: "And perhaps there's a reason for that, Amal"
Serenity: "Holy fucking shit."
Serenity: "HOLY SHIT."
Serenity: "HUGHBURT DID SHE REALLY JUST SAY THAT?"
Serenity: "Are you goddamn illiterate as well?"
Serenity: "That isn't how good writing works are all!"Amal casually throws another web of light on top of the one they already threw. This is just getting gross and weird now and maybe they can end it with a decisive strike. [Chorus D25]
Alcor: "Ahaha. Come on now, if you're smart enough you'll always be the hero"Amal rolled d12+99 and got 7 ( Total: 106 ) for +40% to the next hit on Alcor
Harriet: "Honestly, I stopped listening to him when he made it clear he wasn't going to join the winning team."
Alcor: "Because that's how people will remember you"Serenity‘ rubs at her face.
Amal: "If we hit you hard enough will you shut up and go away and let us work?"Hughbert also doused his suit in some NQ Snake Oil I guess, +180 thp
Amal: "We have things to do, asshat."
JayM: And now, Sniper Beam!Serenity` rolled d100 and got 82 ( Total: 82 ) for 10
Alcor: "Unfortunately I need to make sure that you don’t do those things"Serenity‘ rolled d12+360,120% and got 4 ( Total: 436.8 )
JayM: That’s going to eat the +40% Chorus since it's Next Hit
JayM: Is that added in?Serenity‘ rolled d12+360,160% and got 1 ( Total: 577.6 )
JayM: Harriet!Harriet swings her ECC around, turns the crank, flicks a series of switches with one deft motion, and lets loose a horrible burst of electricity right into Alcor’s dumb face. [Storm Guillotine, 50D]Harriet rolled 1d12+450*1.8 and got 7 ( Total: 817.0 ) for Storm Tracking, Scorpion Mine
JayM: Such a powerful strike…
JayM: Amal!Amal taps their foot. "Well? Still deluding yourself into believing you can stop us!?" [CT 15, charging a Cure, someone will probably need it]
Serenity: "IF THAT'S THE CASE THEN CLEARLY YOU SHOULD STOP TRYING RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I THINK ITS BEEN MADE ABUNDANTLY CLEAR BY NOW YOU WOULD, INDEED, NOT BE VERY GOOD AT IT!"
Serenity: "Fuck! FUCK!"
Harriet: "Hey, Serenity, you want me to make you some earmuffs so you don't have to listen to this asshole the next time we fight him?"
Serenity: "I'd be better at it than you AND I HATE HATE EVERYONE!:
[OOC] Serenity: -one of those hates
Serenity: "Huh? Oh, naw."Alcor grins, he levels his crossbow towards Harriet, energy charging at it's tip "You've no patience, girl" [-6 LP, -30CT] he fires a massive piercing beam of energy through Hughbert and SerenityJayM rolled 1d12+210 and got 11 ( Total: 221 )
Math: (221*1.5) = 331.5
Math: (221*1.2) = 265.2
Math: (221*0.7) = 154.7
JayM: Dealing [265] to Serenity and [154] to Hughbert
Serenity: "I wasn't talking to you shitlord!"
Serenity: "I was talking to your boss."And he summons another shadow as well
Serenity: "Because there's clearly no goddamn point in talking to you."
JayM: Battle order: Serenity [B]:0 Hughbert [F]:7 Amal [B]:8 S-Anton:8 Great Foresight:17 Alcor (Crossbow) [F]:33 Harriet [B]:42
JayM: Status for Alcor (Crossbow) [F]: : [======== ]
JayM: Serenity, your turn!
JayM: At this point, however, you notice something looks decidedly wrong… There's some oddity in your perception of colors that you can't make out…Hughbert slips out of the beam with little more than a few singed threads! "Mmm… At least it looked impressive. I'd give that one a participation merit, at best."
Harriet: "He's kind of like that asshole in my electric theory class. What was his name? Greg? Grant? Anyway, he was only in the damn class to tell us all how electricity had no future compared to ragnite. He thought he was a real big man up until he failed so bad his standing dropped through the floor."
Amal: "Ack, what the fuck is happening, Serenity?"Amal looks… actually scared?
Serenity: "What's happening is I am getting angry and tired and feed up with dealing with these goddamn mouth breathers -"
Amal: "No I mean -"
[OOC] JayM: Isn't a whopping -30CT literally illegal, btw)
Serenity: "Yeah. Yeah. I'M FUCKING DONE." Serenity pulls out a small vial from her pocket, flips open the lid to it, then breifly sticks her tongue into it. She then begins to mash on the trigger of her force gear, while extending her left hand towards Alcor as her eyes begins to glow the color of ragnite. "FUCK OFF YOU PEICE OF SHIT."
Amal: "!?!?!?"
Alcor: "… Okay, this is worst outcome territory, but fine let's do this, Serenity"
Amal: "Oh Goddess."Serenity‘ presses the trigger a few more times before discarding the force gear and raising her recond hand, as cracks begin to form in the reality surrounding Alcor.
Serenity: "THIS IS WHAT YOU WANTED, ISN’T IT?"Hughbert looks back and forth between Serenity and Alcor. "…Amal, should I be, uh… Would a barrier even do anything?"
Serenity: "THIS IS ALWAYS WHAT YOU'RE AFTER. YOU JUST FUCK AROUND PUSHING MY BUTTONS UNTIL I GET PISSED OFF ENOUGH TO DO SOMETHING I NORMALLY COULDN'T DO!"
Serenity: "WELL I HOPE YOU'RE FUCKING HAPPY BECAUSE I GOT A REALLY GREAT IDEA NOW, ASSHOLE."
Harriet: "Oh, boy…"
Amal: "D- damnit I can't see, what are you doing-"
Serenity: "I'M GOING TO SHATTER THE GODDAMN TIMELINE AROUND YOU! ISN'T THAT AN INTREGEING IDEA?!"
Amal: "S- Serenity, I'm not sure that's a good idea-"Serenity‘ clenches both of her first as pale gray light begins to shoot out of the various cracks and rifts and they begin to spread.There’s a dimensional distortion around Alcor, the very space bending and shattering- "You're not the first one to try this, kitten!" Alcor pulls something out of a pocket, a small cubic object made of pure ragnite "Let's see who's stronger!"
JayM: Time for a Mystic skil lcheck!Serenity‘ rolled d100 and got 15 ( Total: 15 )
Serenity: "YOU MIGHT BE STRONGER NORMALLY BUT I CAN ASSURE YOU I’M A LOT ANGRIER AND THE GODDESS LOVES ME MORE THAN YOU FUCKWARD."Amal slams a fist into their hand, shimmering with light. "Everyone else get behind me!"
Harriet: "You know what, yeah, good idea, let's do that." Harriet edges behind Amal.Serenity has the upper hand! The dimensional crush drawns in towards Alcor… "Fine if you want it that way!" he shouts, and then the distortion inverts! There's a massive of wave- Is it nothing? No, it's impossible to describe as what happens is beyond the grasp of your senses, you're just not built for itHughbert stands behind Amal, projecting his compressed curtain in front of the party, flinging his blade in to power it up- "For whatever it's worth, I'll aid you!"But you see space distort around Alcor, but you see something else… Strands, like that of cloth- They twist and turn as if someone were attempting to tear it apart- But it's not present there around him it's like it was… Somewhere above, like an overlay of some formAnd then you hear a voice, sounds familiar but different somehow "I really didn't want to interfere like this but if you're going to come up here"Amal digs their heels in and leans forward, looking determined, radiant crystalline wings forming in a cone behind them!
Serenity: "IS THAT PAWS?"Harriet starts charging up her ECC, again, a long charge just so the static electricity crackling around them helps shield the party. "This is about all I can do, guys. I'm really more of a striker than a defender."And then there's a heavy impact, it's like you fall on the ground but you don't fall, you touch down like a feather on the floor- Around you- You see nothing but the… Night sky? Stars all around youSerenity‘ exhales slowly, still keeping her forcing on twisting space/time around Alcor into the shape of a sphere, eyes still glowing intensely.You stand in a garden, but it’s discolored. Alcor is before you, looking very worn- But someone else is in front of him, wearing the Masharas R&D uniform, it's someone familiar… Cor?Yet it cannot quite be her, as there's a massive, badly healed scar across her face
Serenity: "Hey Lola."Alcor stands up slowly, still holding the cube "Well… Sounds like you're more dangerous than I thought…"
Serenity: "You come to get stuck in a tiny little slice of fuck all with the wrong Alcor?"
JayM: Battle order: Hughbert [F]:0 Amal [B]:1 S-Anton:1 Great Foresight:10 Lola, Memories of Never [F]:13 Alcor (Crossbow) [F]:26 Harriet [B]:35 Serenity [B]:53
JayM: Status for Alcor (Crossbow) [F]: : [= ]
JayM: Status for Lola, Memories of Never [F]: : [= ]
Lola: "More like you managed to drag everyone up here with me"
Serenity: "Don't look at me you're the one that tried to save her."Lola is wearing something on her head- Headphones from the look of it, with a wire leading all the way into a pocket. She lowers her headphones, and from them you can hear music echoing [https://youtu.be/x_xWNmcD1cM]
Serenity: "Should of just left him here."
Serenity: "Because if your plan WASN'T to piss me off and make me do this…"
Lola: "And why, and miss the chance to meet you all in person"
Serenity: "Then she's obviously not helping you any and in fact just fucking shit up more."
Lola: "You're just very amusing when pissed off, Serenity… That, at least, doesn't changes"Amal is shrouded in rainbow light; when he speaks, his voice is different, resonant, deeper, commanding. "That's not you. That's a puppet. You don't even have the strength or confidence to face us."Harriet peers between the crystal feathers. "Oh, it's her. Hey, Serenity, you'd better kill her before I get the chance!"Serenity‘ unclenches and reclenches her fists a few times, but it’s getting a lot harder to concentrate on what she's doing now and it's starting to show on her face.Lola looks at Harriet "Ah, Harriet!" she smiles widely "It's so good to see you, at last… Ahaha, ah… I know how wrong it is, but it is, you know"
Harriet: "Yeah it's not good to see you, actually, you're kind of awful and I hate you."
Alcor: "A puppet, huhn? I wonder if that's true"
Harriet: "Well, okay, mostly I hate that you're pissing Serenity off so much."Lola chuckles "Oh, sister, you slay me… But that's good…"
Lola: "I'd be worried otherwise"Amal drives a chatoyant sword into the ground, maintaining the barrier wings; strides forward past the barrier.
Harriet: "Hey, I like Serenity. I don't much like you."
Lola: "Good, she's a better person to like"
Harriet: "Yeah, you're pretty awful."
Hughbert: "I have a question for you, Lola." He's got his blade back in hand again. "You must be fond of that coat. I'm sure you could appear in any form you'd like… Why that? What does it mean to you? Why would you…?"
Lola: "… Because I served the R&D division, of course, General"Amal pulls a second shimmering sword out of thin air, and stabs the puppet through the gut mid-sentence.
Lola: "Up to my last day"
Harriet: "Also, like, just for the record…"
Serenity: " - The fuck?"
Harriet: "I'm an only child."Lola winces and flinches as she's stabbed "Hehehe… Amal… Before you so teatrically save your friends from my demesne, can you grant me one answer?"
Lola: "Your little interloper… They never gave me their name when we fought together"
Lola: "Could you answer me that?"
Amal: "I am Amal al-Malak and this is my world and I banish this shadow into the abyss."Amal leans in, close, snarls "No" , and shoves the puppet backwards with one hand, roughly.Serenity‘ flinches slightly and very nearly loses her concentration, but manages to recover at the last moment after moving her eyes back onto Alcor.Lola falls back with her arms spread as if in a cross, laughing. As she falls to the ground she scatters into threads-Harriet leans over to Hughbert, whispers: "Hey, so when did Amal get hot?"Amal laughs out loud. "Yes. My dear friend, look me in the eye and tell me you’re not the Spirit of cheating." Who's he even talking to?The threads are not, however, disconnected. And you notice each and every one of them is connect to you all, as well as Alcor. A parting gift, perhaps? But you hear a different voice "That's cheating!" it sounds like a someone who just barely hit puberty, honestly. The threads scatter and tense- "Astral Sabers!" there's a flash of light- And the threads are cut. For a moment you see something- The form is barely human, although it looks soft. Two great blades, one held in each hand, curved horns in their head, great majestic wings and a snake coiled around each armAnd there's a heavy impact as everything around you disappears and you crash against the sands
JayM: And you're back in the proper world
JayM: But no signs of Alcor
Serenity: "FFFFFUUU -"
Hughbert: "What about Amal is-" One teleport later- "…Where's- Damn. Did he get away?"Serenity‘ collapses onto the groud after the light coming out of her eyes spreads throughout her body for a brief moment, then fades away.Harriet slams into the ground, and her ECC discharges its stored electricity - thankfully not hitting anyone.Amal is either laughing, or coughing, trying to catch their breath- breathing out puffs of rainbow smoke- staggering over towards Serenity and slamming the half-formed Cure spell they’d been spinning up approximately twelve years ago into her without really even thinking about it.Serenity‘ is laying face down in the sand, doesn’t bother moving. Eventually mumbles: "'m fine."
Harriet: "Sooo…"
Harriet: "Anyone want to explain what just happened to the rest of the class?"
Harriet: "Hello, completely normal human, over here."
Serenity: "pretty sure i already did"
Amal: "Where the heck is Anton when I need to shove him in front of me to answer questions about metaphysics."
Hughbert: "Yes, please. I'd like to know what was going on with those replacement parts. Were you planning on doing unauthorized repairs without adequate equipment?"
Serenity: "unless you ment amal i got fuck all on that"
JayM: Anton is, in fact, nowhere to be seen
JayM: For a while
Serenity: "but uh"
Serenity: "like"
JayM: He wasn't in the car, you're 100% certain of that. He is now, though, asleep
Serenity: "you know know how all my magic is like"
Serenity: "effectively basically"
Serenity: "just fucking around with implosions and space/time"
Harriet: "Well, let's see. You got super fucking mad and transported us to a weird garden because you were trying to, I don't know, destroy time or something? And then Amal got all angry and sprouted wings and stabbed a bitch, who seemed really familiar with me for some weird-ass reason, and then she collapsed into threads and became a gigantic monster or something."
Amal: "Serenity tried to shove Alcor into a pocket dimension and Lola got mad about it and pulled us all into a reality one meta-level above this one, which is where she hangs out, and couldn't even be bothered to come and say hi to us ourselves."
Amal: "So I stabbed her."
Serenity: "and then how i figured out how to rip open a whole between different time lines and have energy from that pour into one world in the form of destrcutive energy right"
Harriet: "Right, okay."
Amal: "Also Serenity you're scary. I can't believe you figured out how to do that on your own."
Amal: "Like okay adding plus one to the list of reasons you're scary at this point, but."
Harriet: "Do you, uh… do you need some water or something by the way because your voice sounds kind of, uh…"
Serenity: "i dont have the energy for normal talking so you get goddess mumbling"
Serenity: "anyway"
Serenity: "so you basically build off of all of that"
Serenity: "and you go"
Serenity: "actually fuck this guy in particular"Amal giggles. "You talk to the Goddess like this? Never change."
Serenity: "and then you do all kind of stuff like that all that once in a domelike shape"
Serenity: "and then you rip that part of the fabric of reality out of it"
Serenity: "and leave it floating in that vast void of nothing"
Hughbert: "Yes, I believe this calls for a lunch break." He waits a minute, "Yes, indeed, a lunch break." After another pause… "And I guess our oracle isn't going to stop anyone from eating his sandwich."
Serenity: "that was the plan anyway but lola threw him a space/time raft or something"
Amal: "P.S. Paws thinks you're an Oracle now, have fun with that."
Harriet: "So you're carving out a section of time and leaving it to float in… we need to invent a word for time space. Okay, I got you."
Serenity: "how the fuck does that work amal"
Amal: "Iunno."
Serenity: "also what happen to the swords and the not being a tiny unsexy midget."
Harriet: "Yeah, seriously."
Harriet: "You're not even my type and you were super hot."Serenity‘ attempts to hold out a hand in Hughbert’s direction, manages one and a half grabby motions before letting it drop back down.Amal blushes. "H- hang on Paws is freakin' out about something."
Serenity: "tell her she can look but no touching"
Harriet: "Serenity is closer to my type but also, like, no, I'm pretty sure Matheus would kill me, but she was also super hot."
Serenity: "not into weird little kid demigods"
Serenity: "wait what????"Serenity‘ turns her head enough to give Harriet a credulous look.
Amal: "Alcor was trying to do something, trying to reflect back what Serenity did… Serenity was stronger, though, which, daaang-"
Harriet: "What? I have a type. Just because I don’t talk about dating shit doesn't mean I don't have a type."Hughbert hands Serenity a canteen of water and a (freshly peeled) orange from the tree of a whole bunch of fruits.
Serenity: "actually no i guess that makes sense i am pretty hot and smart and amazing in general. carry on."
Harriet: "Yeah, see, that's why Matheus would kill me right there."Serenity‘ takes a small sip, the shoves an orange slice into her mouth.
Amal: "Lola apparently took us to her super special hideout in meta-reality or something instead of leaving us adrift somewhere incompatible with life, but like, if she wanted to kill us she could have done so ANYWAYS, I’m still not sure what she was trying to get out of that whole bit of theatre."
Serenity: "im pretty sure thats mostly because she was trying to save dumb-alcor"
Harriet: "Yeah I completely don't get what she was trying to tell me. Was she flirting with me or something?"
Serenity: "and got caught off guard"
Amal: "Anyways, we know what to look for next time. And I have a feeling if we want to stop her for good we're gonna have to find her there."
Serenity: "again"
Serenity: "DESPITE CLAIMING YOURE THE SCARY ONE"
Serenity: "anyway yeah that chick that looked like cor was lola harriet"
Hughbert: "Ah. Perhaps, due to your grip on the space around Alcor, she was forced to move us somewhere habitable for her pet?"
Serenity: "and shes the boss"
Amal: "…who's apparently your adoptive sister in her timeline."
Serenity: "and her plan is so stupid her alcor left her over it despite them being married"
Harriet: "Oh, so is that what she was talking about?"
Amal: "Also Paws says you're cute when you're flustered." They grin at Harriet.Serenity‘ nods in Hughbert’s direction.
Harriet: "That's dumb." Pause, glance to Amal. "That's dumb too, I wasn't flustered, I was stating a fact."Amal giggles.
Hughbert: "I'm… going to omit the 'meta-reality' part when I write my report to the Major. What in the name of the Goddess does that even mean?"
Amal: "Okay, imagine…"
Amal: "Imagine a dot, okay? And then you turn the dot and it becomes a line, and then you turn the line and it becomes a square, and then you do it again and it becomes a cube…"
Amal: "…that world is sort of like what happens if you then turn the cube."
Harriet: "… also it's completely illogical, because my parents would never adopt an asshole like Lola," Harriet asides to herself.
Harriet: "I mean, really. They have class."
Amal: "It's… I think of it as above this world, although that's not quite the right way to put it."
Serenity: "wait wait wait"
Harriet: "Anyway, it's okay, Hughbert, I'll audit you in a physics class when we get back home and then you'll be close to knowing what the fuck they're talking about."
Serenity: "did you mean harriet and lola are adopted in the other world"
Serenity: "isnt cor like fourty years older than us"
Amal: "Maybe the other world is really doofy, I dunno!"Serenity‘ chews on another slice of orange, after rolling over onto her back finally.
Serenity: "Anyway, I stand my by statement that a lot of this is all just some really dumb ad overly elaborate training program."
Harriet: "I don’t know what she's hoping to gain from it, because I'm totally still gonna kill her."
Harriet: "Can you manufacture those wings to be electricity-permeable?"
Serenity: "Because I refuse to believe she's actually so dumb that this is anything but that."
Amal: "A- anyways, I guess… the 'real me', if you want to call it that, is in that world, and this is like…" They pause, smile a little thinly. "A daemon, running around in your world, calling itself Amal."
Harriet: "Oh, were you the weird horned not-human?"
Harriet: "That's pretty cool."
Serenity: "No I think that was Paws."
Amal: "Serenity wasn't going to hold up forever, I had to do something. So I did."
Harriet: "That's Paws? Damn, I was way off."
Serenity: "Amal's voice sounded like the opposite of a little girls."
Harriet: "Still calling her Puppy Paws, though."There's a refreshing breeze that blows past the party, it curves around Harriet
Amal: "Paws is about to frantically interrupt me and say that wasn't Paws, that was bad lighting, etc. etc. etc., but I think it looked cool as hell so I'm gonna let you just go with that."
Serenity: "GRANTED I wasn't paying a hell of a lot of attention so I may have mixed something up."Amal giggles a little.
Hughbert: "Hmm. Given how much more volume is in a cube than a square… Should we expect any ill effects of visiting this higher dimension? Or… Beneficial? And for that matter, would we be able to utilize such a space to our advantage?"
Harriet: "Yeah, you kind of looked like you had your hands full." Harriet looks up at the breeze as it flows past. "Hi Paws."
Serenity: "Uhhhh prrrobably not… to the first and uh."
Amal: "If she had pulled us just anywhere, it probably would have killed all of you."
Serenity: "I don't know get back to me after a nap and also when we have Anton on hand."
Harriet: "I can't even begin to start conceiving of the effects of visiting a different level of reality on human flesh, but if you're volunteering I'll totally take a shot at it."
Amal: "Paws and I are thinkin' about it, too. We've got some ideas."
Serenity: "I am really good at breaking things but breaking things, while great for offense, isn't so good for utility."
Harriet: "Goddess, don't I know it."
Amal: "As long as she thinks that level of reality is hers, and not mine, she's gonna keep giving us a headache…"Serenity‘ pauses, then laughs at Harriet.
Harriet: "Everyone was trying to run protection and I’m just like, fuck, I don't know, my ECC runs a static barrier while it's charging up?" Harriet shrugs.
Hughbert: "So a higher dimension requires some manner of conditioning to visit, and most places do not have such accomodations. Perhaps we should develop a stylish suit in the design of the R+D Corps that would provide such protection?"
Harriet: "Okay, but I am not wearing pants."Amal grins at Hughbert. "You might be on to something there…"
[OOC] Math: 25+9)*0.9) = 30.6
JayM: You happen to get [+30 XP] from this, an awkward number for an awkward reasonHughbert shrugs at Harriet. "We can try to make the summer uniform work, but I will not promise you it will make it to the final design phase."
Harriet: "I might be in a men's field, but I am so not a dude."
Serenity: "Amal how come your imaginary friend uses a staff instead of two swords by the way?"Amal Amal stares at Serenity for a second longer than is reasonable before laughing. "Iunno."
Serenity: "Fair enough I guess."
Sleeping With The Js: With that, we leave our heroes to recover from a bit of an extradimensional excursion.
JayM: I wonder what else the future holds for them
Serenity: "Anyway figuring out how to do that on my own wasn't really hard, it naturally comes from my natural skill set. It just. Takes a lot of uh…. power. And focus." Serenity shoves another orange slice into her mouth.
Amal: "…it was really impressive. I didn't even think doing something like that should be possible, to be honest."
Harriet: "Uh, dude, it's kind of in the name."
Harriet: "Fatebreakers, not Fate-toeing-the-line-I-guessers."
Serenity: "That's because you only projected yourself through time once, one way, where as I've spend fourteen years lightly warping reality."
Amal: "I'm at peace with having been dramatically wrong about the laws of physics."
Hughbert: "As I am afraid that my primary field of expertise involves working within the laws of physics, please forgive me if I leave venturing beyond them to the rest of you."Amal giggles!
Serenity: "Speaking of.
Serenity: "Where do you think Anton went?"
Amal: "I have got no hecking clue."
Amal: "I'm looking forward to asking his dumb ass when he wakes up."
Serenity: "He's not actually in the car and I can't hear his force gear anywhere. Which is extra funny since none of us noticed him vanishing in the first place."
Amal: "Wait didn't he show back up in the car when we fell back into reality?"
Harriet: "I assume he was off doing something important."
Serenity: "…?"
Hughbert: "He's in the car, napping, not protesting if someone happens to take his sandwich."
Serenity: "Oh. Yeah you're right there it is."
Amal: "Okay phew I thought we'd lost our Anton for a second."
Serenity: "Sorry I know he was gone when I got tossed out and they're harder to hear when they're powered off."
Amal: "I mean, more than we temporarily did."
Harriet: "Anton's like a cat. Impossible to use in the lab, but always finding his way back home."
Serenity: "I'll bite. What were you trying to use a cat in a lab for?"
Harriet: "Oh, it wasn't me. It was the guys down in bioengineering. Sometimes I lurk for their experiments because I get bored with my fields."
Serenity: "Aha."
Amal: "(The cat came back, the very next day, the cat came back, we thought he was a goner, but-)"
Harriet: "They wanted to see whether they could adapt feline balance to the field. But the cats kept escaping."
Harriet: "Eventually some guy stuck some toast to the back of one. Can't fathom why."
Harriet: "Something about antigravity? It was pretty dumb. We'd been up for like, thirty hours though, being fair."
Serenity: "…Buttered toast, you mean?"
Harriet: "Anyway, as you can imagine that made the cat really offended, and we didn't find it for like, two weeks."
Harriet: "Oh yeah, super buttered."
Serenity: "Okay. That makes sense." Pause. Laughing.Amal also laughing.
Harriet: "All the guys had to sit in for an ethics refresher after that. I, of course, had never been involved, because that's totally not my field, why are you blaming me, professor?"
Harriet: "Three bets as to whether that excuse flew."Hughbert gets a chuckle out of it and shakes his head. "Please do not strap buttered toast to Anton while he is asleep."